The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-08-19
Carriage Motors.
A NEW SCHEME FOR pRopELLINe BUGaIEs

Regarding the scheme of DIR. j. r.
Finrey, of Pittsburg, which came TO
the surface several years ago for a
system of running carriages through
the streets by electricity taken from
overhead wires, New York reporter
has had an interesting interview with
an inventor, and says: In the car.
riages to be used the motor is placed
under the back seat, and is connected
with the overhead wire by short
wire running to "trave)er," similar to
that with which street cars are connect
ed. The connecting wire between the
carriage and the little ''traveler,'
which runs along the overhead wire,
is long enough and flexible enough to
allow the carriages to be run from one
side of the street to the other, and the
traveller itself may be removed from
the overhead wire whenever the driver
of the carriage wishes to disconnect it
entirely. One of New York's best ex-
perts said, in speaking of the possibili-
ties of the Finney system:
"Much will depend upon the smooth
ness of the roads over which the car
riages will run. Given a perfectly
smooth pavement, such as our asphalt,
and there need be no difficulty what
ever. With a block pavement it re-
quires from three or four times as
much power TO run a carriage as on
rails, and on an ordinary turnpike the
power expended is from five 10 six
times as great. The motor to run an
ordinary carriage holding four persons
need not weigh more than 800 pounds,
and in this respect the overhead wire
system is vastly superior to any use Of
storage battery as we have it at pres
ent, for if TO the weight of the motor
we have to add the weight of the stor-
age battery, which is as yet very
heavy apparatus, the carriage would
necessarily be very strong, and require
the heaviest kind of framing, axles and
wheels. The present efficiency of the
electric motor is 80 great that almost
anything is to be hoped from its intel.
ligent use.
"The latest figures of recent careful
tests gives its efficiency as 90 per cent;
that is to say, that of the electric pow
er put into the motor, it will give back
93 per cent. This is extraordinary
high as compared to the steam engine,
which returns about Is per cent. of the
value of the coal burned. When we
come to compare the cost of running a
light carriage by electricity from an
overhead wire with the cost of horse
power, it will be seen that there is a
greater margin in favor of electricity
than when street cars are talked about,
for the Car company uses its horses to
the best advantage, while the private
owner may not get more than half the
available work out of his carriage
horse. As to the manner in which
people could pay for the service by
electricity, that is still matter for dis
cussion. 1t is quite possible that in
small towns the same overhead wires
which are used for the street cars
might be used for carriages.
Tf the storage battery can be made
much lighter than at present, and scarce
a day passes that we do not hear OF
some step in this direction, it will, OF
course, come into use for light car
riages. In this connection, the use of
water power and windmill power is OF
gre at improvement. Within the last
year the improvement made in storage
batteries, and in the dynamos which
feed them, have been such as to war
rant anyone in believing that in the
very near future we shall see wind
mills used to store up energy which
can be employed for lighting or for
running carriages One difficulty has
been the trouble in making a dynamo
which would start and stop automatic
ally, but that is being rapidly overcome,
The storage battery in connection with
the wind mills may have future i'm.
portance OF which We scarcely dream
in furnishing cheap power and light